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Artificial Sweeteners: Debunking the Sweet Stuff
The artifical sweetener companies spend millions on advertising to convince the health-conscious that their synthetic, possibly toxic product will provide a "safe alternative" to sugar. In reality, you're probably better off sticking with sugar.
"Sugar-free" is an alluring title now seen on everything from soft drinks to pudding to candy of all kinds. As a sugar-obsessed nation, consuming 150 pounds of it per person every year, we are constantly informed of the dangers of too much sugar consumption – everything from increased risk of diabetes and heart disease to obesity. I spend weeks at a time traveling cross-country with my husband on a truck and am often on the look-out for treats that are both pleasurable and healthy. The lure of a "sugar-free" treat can be irresistible, promising sweet tooth gratification along with health and diet preservation.
But is this a dangerous illusion?
Many sugar-free treats, including an ever-growing assortment of chewing gum, contain aspartame. This artificial sweetener (also marketed as NutraSweet, Equal, and Spoonful) has provoked controversy and debate ever since its approval in 1974.
The first time I heard about the dangers of aspartame was in 1995, while attending a lecture by the late Don Smith, a licensed Brain Gym practitioner in Killeen, Texas. He said, "If you care about the health of your brain, stay as far away from aspartame as you can. It breaks the blood-brain barrier and is known to cause tumors." He drew this insight from the infamous two year study that was conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, in which 12 of the 320 lab rats that were fed a normal diet, along with aspartame, developed brain tumors, while the control rats developed zero tumors. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon who authored Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, hailed these lab results as "an incredible and unprecedented occurrence," and condemned aspartame as a "dangerous neurotoxin."
Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that one of aspartame's break-down products is formaldehyde.
Anyone who has ever taken a biology course knows that formaldehyde is used to preserve the dead bodies of both animals and humans. It is also a neurotoxin/carcinogen that is very difficult to remove from the tissues once it has been absorbed. (I know this to be true from personal experience, as my own family suffered the harmful side-effects of formaldehyde poisoning for years after living in a home that contained the chemical in the floor-boards and paneling).
Frighteningly, studies have found high concentrations of formaldehyde in the livers and brains of people who ingest aspartame on a regular basis. Perhaps more than anyone, airline pilots understand the dangers of aspartame. When aspartame penetrates the brain, it can cause abnormal brain function, and seems more inclined to do so at high altitudes. Many pilots have passed out in the cockpit after chewing gum or drinking a soft drink sweetened by aspartame. In fact, pilots know they may not pass their yearly physical if aspartame use is in evidence.
If aspartame is "ugly" in the world of artificial sweeteners, the evidence suggests that Splenda (the brand name for sucralose) may very well be "bad."
Sucralose was actually discovered in the 1970's by researchers who hoped to create a new pesticide.
Although many consumers have turned to Splenda as a safe alternative to aspartame, no long term studies have been performed on this sweetener. Short term studies conducted on test rodents by the manufacturers, McNeil Nutritionals, revealed enlarged kidneys and livers as well as shrunken thymus glands (the gland that is crucial to immune system function). Although Splenda seems like a viable alternative sweetener, it is far from being natural. In fact, it is sugar that has been modified by the addition of chlorine atoms.
That's right, chlorine.
The chemical that health-conscious people often pay to have filtered out of their drinking and bath water, due to the fact it may increase colon and other cancers. While most studies show that only around 15% of sucralose is digested, it is feared by some researchers that people with more efficient digestive systems will actually absorb more... along with the chlorine.
Don't worry, you DO have other options!
There are a couple good guys in the otherwise dismal world of alternative sweeteners: stevia and xylitol, both 100% natural sweeteners with zero calories and no known side effects.
Stevia, which is derived from the leaves of a Latin American herb, is over 100 times as sweet as sugar and has been used for years in Brazil to sweeten tea. Researchers at the National Institute of Health Sciences in Tokyo, Japan, after testing stevia, concluded that "stevia is not carcinogenic in rats." In fact, researchers in Denmark have shown that stevia may reduce blood glucose levels among patients with Type-2 diabetes. Similarly, xylitol is not a harmful, artificial substance but occurs naturally in strawberries, yellow plums, and lettuce. It can now be found in some popular brands of chewing gum in America and abroad. Xylitol has no known toxic levels, yet it tastes exactly like sugar and can substitute for sugar in baking. Yet, unlike sugar, xylitol has been shown to prevent cavities.
For those of us who are seeking to satisfy our cravings in healthier ways, both stevia and xylitol are not only free of negative side effects, but actually promote good health... and this seems to me like a truly sweet deal.
Next time you see a Splenda or Equal commercial promising a healthy alternative to sugar, just remember that no rat ever got a brain tumor from consuming stevia or xylitol (or sugar, for that matter).
Have diabetes or just want to know more about it? Visit New Treatment for Diabetes!
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"Sugar-free" is an alluring title now seen on everything from soft drinks to pudding to candy of all kinds. As a sugar-obsessed nation, consuming 150 pounds of it per person every year, we are constantly informed of the dangers of too much sugar consumption – everything from increased risk of diabetes and heart disease to obesity. I spend weeks at a time traveling cross-country with my husband on a truck and am often on the look-out for treats that are both pleasurable and healthy. The lure of a "sugar-free" treat can be irresistible, promising sweet tooth gratification along with health and diet preservation.
But is this a dangerous illusion?
Many sugar-free treats, including an ever-growing assortment of chewing gum, contain aspartame. This artificial sweetener (also marketed as NutraSweet, Equal, and Spoonful) has provoked controversy and debate ever since its approval in 1974.
The first time I heard about the dangers of aspartame was in 1995, while attending a lecture by the late Don Smith, a licensed Brain Gym practitioner in Killeen, Texas. He said, "If you care about the health of your brain, stay as far away from aspartame as you can. It breaks the blood-brain barrier and is known to cause tumors." He drew this insight from the infamous two year study that was conducted by the manufacturer of aspartame, in which 12 of the 320 lab rats that were fed a normal diet, along with aspartame, developed brain tumors, while the control rats developed zero tumors. Russell Blaylock, a neurosurgeon who authored Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills, hailed these lab results as "an incredible and unprecedented occurrence," and condemned aspartame as a "dangerous neurotoxin."
Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that one of aspartame's break-down products is formaldehyde.
Anyone who has ever taken a biology course knows that formaldehyde is used to preserve the dead bodies of both animals and humans. It is also a neurotoxin/carcinogen that is very difficult to remove from the tissues once it has been absorbed. (I know this to be true from personal experience, as my own family suffered the harmful side-effects of formaldehyde poisoning for years after living in a home that contained the chemical in the floor-boards and paneling).
Frighteningly, studies have found high concentrations of formaldehyde in the livers and brains of people who ingest aspartame on a regular basis. Perhaps more than anyone, airline pilots understand the dangers of aspartame. When aspartame penetrates the brain, it can cause abnormal brain function, and seems more inclined to do so at high altitudes. Many pilots have passed out in the cockpit after chewing gum or drinking a soft drink sweetened by aspartame. In fact, pilots know they may not pass their yearly physical if aspartame use is in evidence.
If aspartame is "ugly" in the world of artificial sweeteners, the evidence suggests that Splenda (the brand name for sucralose) may very well be "bad."
Sucralose was actually discovered in the 1970's by researchers who hoped to create a new pesticide.
Although many consumers have turned to Splenda as a safe alternative to aspartame, no long term studies have been performed on this sweetener. Short term studies conducted on test rodents by the manufacturers, McNeil Nutritionals, revealed enlarged kidneys and livers as well as shrunken thymus glands (the gland that is crucial to immune system function). Although Splenda seems like a viable alternative sweetener, it is far from being natural. In fact, it is sugar that has been modified by the addition of chlorine atoms.
That's right, chlorine.
The chemical that health-conscious people often pay to have filtered out of their drinking and bath water, due to the fact it may increase colon and other cancers. While most studies show that only around 15% of sucralose is digested, it is feared by some researchers that people with more efficient digestive systems will actually absorb more... along with the chlorine.
Don't worry, you DO have other options!
There are a couple good guys in the otherwise dismal world of alternative sweeteners: stevia and xylitol, both 100% natural sweeteners with zero calories and no known side effects.
Stevia, which is derived from the leaves of a Latin American herb, is over 100 times as sweet as sugar and has been used for years in Brazil to sweeten tea. Researchers at the National Institute of Health Sciences in Tokyo, Japan, after testing stevia, concluded that "stevia is not carcinogenic in rats." In fact, researchers in Denmark have shown that stevia may reduce blood glucose levels among patients with Type-2 diabetes. Similarly, xylitol is not a harmful, artificial substance but occurs naturally in strawberries, yellow plums, and lettuce. It can now be found in some popular brands of chewing gum in America and abroad. Xylitol has no known toxic levels, yet it tastes exactly like sugar and can substitute for sugar in baking. Yet, unlike sugar, xylitol has been shown to prevent cavities.
For those of us who are seeking to satisfy our cravings in healthier ways, both stevia and xylitol are not only free of negative side effects, but actually promote good health... and this seems to me like a truly sweet deal.
Next time you see a Splenda or Equal commercial promising a healthy alternative to sugar, just remember that no rat ever got a brain tumor from consuming stevia or xylitol (or sugar, for that matter).
Have diabetes or just want to know more about it? Visit New Treatment for Diabetes!
Have Something to Say About Supplements?
Agree/Disagree? Have some insight? Share your knowledge with the world!
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